The conference realignment saga between the Big 12 and the SEC seemed to reach its cusp Saturday evening, as Texas A&M University wrote its dream ending to the drama that has unfolded over the last couple of years, defeating #1 and defending national champion Alabama in Tuscaloosa as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Aggies, led by new head coach Kevin Sumlin, are 8-2 on the season with a 5-2 record in SEC conference play, proving doubters who said they couldn't compete in the new conference completely and utterly wrong. Meanwhile in the Big 12 conference, replacements TCU and West Virginia who were deemed as better programs have 5 conference wins between them.

A major storyline last year that tipped conference realignment over the edge was the development of the Longhorn Network, an effort between the University of Texas and ESPN to create a television network surrounding one school and athletic program. The resistance to this idea by the rest of the Big 12 conference has been well characterized on this very blog. In fact, we (really @spadilly ) were the first to bring you the Longhorn Network Contract.

So at what cost has the Longhorn Network brought upon the University of Texas Athletic Department? Just look at the success Texas A&M has had in their new conference. With a new coach in Kevin Sumlin, a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Johnny Manziel, the opportunity for high school talent from the state of Texas to play in the Conference of Champions, and now the record to prove that the Aggies can compete in the SEC effectively, it seems as if the Aggies are on the upward trend to become THE program in the State of Texas. Don't believe us? Just read THIS article by our friend Bruce Feldman.

While the Aggies were beating #1 Alabama on a national stage of The SEC on CBS (which was the second highest viewed college football game this season), the Texas Longhorns hosted an 11am home game against Iowa State which was shown on the Longhorn Network, meaning most of the country couldn't watch the half empty stadium celebrate the life of former coach Darrell K. Royal. In fact, Iowa State fans who were shown the game on local ABC affiliate stations had greater access to the game than Longhorn fans. Case in point: "Today’s Texas-Iowa State football game will be off limits for millions of fans nationwide without the year-old Longhorn Network." -- Austin American Statesman

All of this has come at a huge cost to the University of Texas. There certainly seems to be egg on the face of Texas Athletic Director DeLoss Dodds and President Bill Powers. But at least the new Longhorn Network is bringing in truckloads of money to Austin, right? Not so fast my friend. We (spadilly) have been able to obtain just how much money the Longhorn Network brought in to the University of Texas and its athletic department this past fiscal year.

So let's get to the actual numbers, for entertainment purposes. We have known previously that the network should bring about $10-15 million annually. So how much did the network actually bring in from July 2011-July 2012?

So in July 2011-2012, the Longhorn Network was supposed to bring in a projected $10.9 million. However, this first year payment was prorated based upon the actual launch date of the network in late August of 2011, compared to July 1st, 2011. So in reality, the network brought in $9.2 million to be split between 3rd tier rights partner IMG and the University of Texas. Once IMG collects its 14% share, the University is left with $7.9 million for the first year. Not bad right? Well the money is about to be split again.
Here is actually payments the University received

And here is the final split, 50/50 between the University and the Athletic Department. In all, the AD collected $3.9 million from the first year of the Longhorn Network.

Now comes the question. Has it been worth it? Has nearly $4 million added to the athletic department bottom line worth the weakening of the Big 12 conference, creating instability and devaluing of the overall product on the field? What about the trouble it has caused Mack Brown, causing him to devote time away from his team? And what about the awakening of a football giant in Texas A&M that can seemingly overtake Texas as the top program in the state fairly quickly in terms of appeal, fandom, and recruiting? Has the $4 million been worth it DeLoss? That is not for us to answer, that is for the thousands of Longhorn fans that have been shut off from their football team three times this season because of poor network distribution.

It seems the answer is clear: The University of Texas has been satisfied with their $8 million paycheck to cause havoc within its conference, reduction in the quality of football product on the field, and the loss of marketability by shutting out the rest of the country and even their most loyal fans from watching their team.

We hope it has been worth it, because it has been the best deal for Texas A&M.

This past Saturday provided a perfect window into the ongoing battle for the hearts and mind of the football crazy state of Texas. On one side stood the Texas Longhorns and on the other stood the Texas A&M Aggies, each of whom adopted different strategies to grow their brand going forward. Texas gambled that the Longhorn Network would make its program a national brand while A&M gambled that wedding its program to the SEC would provide a larger benefit.

Saturday provided an intriguing examination of the two paths: The Texas Longhorns played an eleven in the morning kickoff against Iowa State in front of a miniscule television audience on the Longhorn Network. Later that day, at 2:30 central, Texas A&M kicked off against the top rated Alabama Crimson Tide nationwide on CBS. While virtually no one could see the Texas game, the A&M game became the second highest rated football game of the season, behind only last week's Alabama-LSU game.

Today news trickled out about the ratings in individual markets. The state of Texas featured three of the top 12 highest rated television markets in the country for A&M at Alabama. Which Texas city had the highest rating in the state? Austin, which posted a 16.3 rating, the third highest rating in the entire nation. (Dallas and Houston were a robust 10 and 12, respectively).

Remember when Texas athletic director Deloss Dodds said before the season that Texas A&M and the SEC "have a small sliver of the east side?"

Well, he was completely wrong.

The SEC and Texas A&M already have a massive slice of Texas, including the city that the Longhorns call home.

While residents of Austin have reacted with indifference to the Longhorn Network, they've embraced the Aggies in the SEC wholeheartedly.

A&M's gamble to hitch its wagon to the SEC has already paid off.

Big time.

Meanwhile Texas's gamble to launch its own television network has been an abject failure. How much of a failure? Do you know what the Longhorn Network contributed to Texas athletics in its first year? $3.9 million dollars. We know this thanks to the documents posted by the guys at The Midnight Yell.

The total take for the University of Texas was just $7.9 million. (The funds are split 50/50).

So the Longhorns pay Mack Brown over a million dollars more a year than their athletic department makes off the Longhorn Network.

Launched with much attention, the Longhorn Network has been all hat, no cattle.

It's easy to blame ESPN for the Longhorn Network's failure, but that's not actually fair. See, Texas had made up its mind that the Longhorn Network was a necessity. If ESPN hadn't bought the Longhorn Network then Fox or NBC probably would have ponied up the money and brought the channel to life. The Longhorn Network was simply the pound of flesh that Texas extracted from its Big 12 brethren to ensure that Texas remained in the conference. ESPN paid the money for the Longhorn Network to keep someone else from landing Texas -- and also to ensure that the Big 12 remained intact. ESPN made a calculated business decision that protected its interests and kept its competitors from snagging Texas. What's proven to be true is that no matter who launched the Longhorn Network it would have been a total disaster. If anything, ESPN has actually been more successful than the other partners would have been.

What's worse, the Big 12 didn't remain intact. Nebraska and Colorado and Missouri and Texas A&M all left for greener pastures.

In their wake Texas started the Longhorn Network.

But here's the rub, the four schools that left the Big 12 are actually going to do better financially than Texas is with the Longhorn Network. Think about this for a minute. Yes, the Longhorn Network has been a tremendous success. But only for the schools that left because the Longhorn Network was being started. Texas fans should actually be furious with their leadership for misjudging things so badly.

In today's multimedia era, it's not about where the games are aired, it's about whether people want to see the games.

What Texas A&M has already learned is that SEC fans consume all SEC products. That's because the SEC is following the NFL's model, where you're only as strong as your weakest link. Even Texas fans aren't demanding the Longhorn Network. And there isn't a single person who isn't a Texas fan that has even watched the Longhorn Network.

Why?

It's the games, stupid.

Texas gambled otherwise, that the Longhorn brand mattered more than the teams that Texas was playing on its network. Texas thought that its fans would demand the channel be carried by their cable providers. Instead, no one has really cared.

So far Texas has been completely wrong about the Longhorn Network's appeal. What's worse, they've been completely wrong and they're devaluing their brand in the process, making it even harder for kids to experience their product. The Longhorn Network was supposed to be a recruiting tool. Only no one can see it. More kids in the state of Texas watched A&M play at Alabama on a single Saturday afternoon than have seen a game or show on the Longhorn Network since its launch. The Longhorn Network was supposed to make it rain on Texas athletics, instead it's providing a light trickle, just $3.9 million dollars this year, not even enough to pay Mack Brown's salary. (The coming SEC Network, by the way, is going to be a 500 year flood). In fact, the Longhorn Network is such a drag on Texas that the only people watching it are opposing coaching staffs who are using it to scout Texas's players. It's gotten so bad for Texas that even Mack Brown is complaining about the network. "I didn't ask for it," Brown said recently. "We were given a deal we had no input in."

Turns out the Longhorn Network is a lemon, if it was a car, the buyer would be able to return it and get his or her money back.

But instead the Longhorn Network is here to stay.

And be watched by no one.

Yesterday on our 3HL radio show here in Nashville former Texas safety Michael Griffin, a really good guest and current Titan, told us that he probably would have gone to A&M if the Aggies had been in the SEC when he committed to schools. "You'd get to play against the best and stay in Texas? Who wouldn't be interested in that?"

With Kevin Sumlin and Johnny Manziel likely to be together for at least three more seasons in the SEC, it's a question that lots of Texas kids have to be asking as well. Why would I go to Texas where no one will see my games when I can go to A&M and play in the SEC in front of the entire nation? Whether the Longhorns will admit it or not, we know they're watching the Aggies and envying the national attention the program is receiving.

It's still early in Texas, but so far the Aggie move to the SEC is trouncing Texas's decision to start its own network.

But you don't have to take my word for it.

You can just check the television ratings in Austin, Texas.

Turns out the SEC's small sliver of east Texas includes the Texas Longhorn's own campus.

DeLoss Dodds thought he could make Texas a national program. Instead, in reaching for the nation, he lost his own state.

Who does A&M play when UT plays KSU? Do you think A&M will still out rate them?

Obviously, the LHN has not panned out, but comparing a game where one team plays the #1 team and the other plays one of the smaller schools in the conference isn't going to be the final referendum on such a thing. Millions of die hard UT fans aren't suddenly going to become Aggies. That's just absurd.

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You'll see it's all a show, keep 'em laughing as you go, just remember, the last laugh is on you, and always look on the bright side of life!

Who does A&M play when UT plays KSU? Do you think A&M will still out rate them?

Obviously, the LHN has not panned out, but comparing a game where one team plays the #1 team and the other plays one of the smaller schools in the conference isn't going to be the final referendum on such a thing. Millions of die hard UT fans aren't suddenly going to become Aggies. That's just absurd.

aTm just played the second most watched game of the college football season. Compare it to whatever game you want that Texas played, and it doesn't matter. KSU vs. Texas won't draw as many viewers as aTm vs. Bama...and those viewers watched aTm knock off the number 1 team in the country/defending champions.